Why the GOP Elite Despises Sarah Palin

The GOP was the Grand Old Party. Now it’s the Gray Old Party and no about of Grecian Formula can hide the obvious.

Somewhere along the way, the GOP adopted an unofficial rule that says you run for office, bring home expensive pork barrel projects to your state, have a few roads and bridges named after you, campaign for others, and when you are old and gray and have enough political chits to call in, it becomes your turn to be the party’s nominee for president of the United State.While the Democrats have brought in charismatic newcomers like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, the GOP has offered up senior citizens Bob Dole and John McCain. George W. Bush was the notable exception but “junior” was able to piggyback on Bush-the-older’s coattails. Bush 41 didn’t get his second term so it was still “technically” his turn.

Under this formula, there is no room for fresh new faces with good ideas. In fact, you can have bad ideas or no ideas and the party will cover for you. If you keep your nose clean, show up in the right places and shake enough hands, you are in line for this position. If you run for president but don’t make it, you get extra points and move up a couple of spaces. If you become the vice-president, you go to the top of the list. This is how it works.

John McCain threw in a wildcard by selecting Sarah Palin to be his vice president. The energetic young governor from Alaska turned the political landscape upside down. If McCain hadn’t been such an unbelievably bad candidate, if he had taken his Geritol and not slept through his debates, if he had taken ginkgo biloba so he could have memorized a few new lines, Barack Obama likely would still be the junior senator from Illinois.

As the primary progressed, the McCain campaigned soaked up all the leftover staffers from the other campaigns. These campaign workers were biding their time until 2012. Then it would be their candidates “turn” to get the nomination. They were not about to let this upstart from Alaska get in the way so some “leaked” information to the media to ensure her demise. Stories are still being printed using these “unnamed” sources from the McCain campaign that paint Palin as a dummy, kook or demanding prima donna. Rubbish!

Now the Republican party elite has focused on doing what these disgruntled staffers and the left-wing media tried to do but could not — bury Palin.

Why is she so misunderstood, if not outright hated by the party establishment?
• She is not a political animal.
• She doesn’t play by the old rules.
• She has not been to the right parties.
• She doesn’t bow down to party “insiders.”
• She is a true outsider and unpredictable.
• She can’t be counted on to cover for party members who are spending too much or doing too little.
• It is not her turn.

Let’s be clear about one thing. Resigning as governor of Alaska was not a smart political move. She didn’t do it for political reasons. She did it because it was in the best interest of her state. When is the last time a politician did something – on purpose– that was not in his or her best interest?

Sarah Palin is not a politician. She is a statesman. Statesmen are an endangered species. It’s been so long since we’ve seen any, we can’t identify them anymore.

Palin fought corruption in her own party and was the darling of the Democrats in Alaska until she became a national figure. Now they fear her so they have jumped on the “bury Sarah” bandwagon. Surprise! Surprise.

Sarah Palin didn’t set out to become the mayor of Wasilla or the governor of Alaska because she wanted those jobs. She became mayor and then governor because there was a need. There was no one else available to fill that need so she answered the call.

The last thing we need is another politician who will say or do anything because he or she simply wants to be the president. Been there, done that.

I think it’s pretty clear that Sarah Palin doesn’t really want to be president. However, she understands how desperately this country needs reform and, if no one else is available who can get the job done, she likely will take off her apron, put down her hunting rifle, dust herself off and run for the office.

One thing is sure. She will have to climb over the GOP establishment before she gets to the White House.

Jane,
I am so disgusted with the Republican Party and wonder why they just don’t become Democrats. We get someone like Sarah Palin and even Republicans try to bury her. I believe she is a good woman and would love to see her in the Senate, AR-15, fishing gear and all.

In the animal kingdom, things can and do happen that result in thinning of the herds. The burning question for conservatives ought to be: Why haven’t the RINO (Republican In Name Only) herds been thinned by abortion, birth control, childlessness by choice, and younger family members becoming sharply ideological Democrats?

There may be plenty of porcine bodies laying about, but I, and those like minded will be busy kicking them out of the way, if she decides to take a run at the office.
The wars of the past decade have had little direct impact on the civilian population in the short term, but they have shown what honor is, and in the long term, they have shown the cost of foolish wistful thinking. They are also the reason that statemenship is now something commonly thought of, and why Sarah Palin shines so brightly amid all the dim bulbs.
War is man’s natural state, and it is the acts of powerful personalities that can bring both destruction and death, and peace and prosperity to the bargaining table that are the only ones who can parley a peace. It is the Statesman who brings both the sword and gun, as well as the prospects for peace and prosperity to the table and shows that either is an option, and thereby shows commitment of real value, to the peace offer, something that can never be done by weakness. I think Sarah Palin can bring the sword and gun to the table the same way President Reagan brought a real and honest choice to Russia, powerful war, or the real prospect of peace, only offerable by people with real power.
John McClain
GySgt, USMC, ret.
Vanceboro, NC

With all due respect to Sarah Palin, I never felt she had the qualities necessary to be President of the United States. I am a die-hard conservative, not a Republican per se, and would never ever vote for a Democrat. However, ever since this last election, I have been cringing at the way Palin is being paraded around as a possible candidate for 2012. No, no, no, a thousand times no. She truly is not qualified. She truly does not have the very necessary knowledge of the issues. Please, please, please, bring forth a new face but a qualified one with the necessary intelligence and knowledge-base to be the leader of the free world. She’s just not it. Please let her recede into obscurity.

Larry – if she means what she says, then she must have the world’s worst memory. She directly contradicts herself all the time. And now she leaves Alaska worse off than it was when she became governor. Similarly, she left Wasilla worse off – it went from being in the black when she became mayor to being over $20 million in debt when she left.

At least she did speak truth in that her resignation is the best thing for Alaska. Now maybe they can begin to fix all her messes.

Great article…I am also a Southern Californian who appreciates Sarah Palin..
I can remember one year ago this month driving through Texas explaining to my uncle (on our way to my grandmothers funeral) Sarah Palin…He hadn’t heard of her. After I explained her record to him he said “Oh, she’s a statesmen”. I hadn’t heard that term in reference to her again until your post.
It is accurate, and badly needed in today’s political culture. Unfortunately this country is filled with people like the poster above “D”.
Nothing of substance to argue on, demeaning slander to both the governor and her supporters.
Note to Liberals and “Elite” Republicans: That line of attack does not work. There is no “meat in your sandwich” so to speak. No substance, just empty rhetoric that will only end up making YOU, not the governor look bad.

I do agree with Larry. I enjoyed your post and will be bookmarking this page.

Jane, Thanks for the column. I’m very conservative and have grown so disillusioned with the dimwits in office from local to international that I am actively voting against any candidate who has held an office for more than one term. Either move up or move on. If you can’t make it happen in 2,4,or 6 years why do we need you. I almost didn’t vote for the republican ticket because of McCain-an obvious democratic boob. While Palin wasn’t terribly qualified, she was obviously much more qualified than the current in house idiot in chief. Maybe one of these days the GOP and Dems will awake and actually do what we are electing them to do and that is fix things.

Palin did in almost 3 years more than most govenors get done in 2 terms.Pailin becamei stymied by a legislature who worked with her then after she returned could only look for ways to oppose her,8 pieces of legislation last session out of 400,what a bunch of culls they are,one named a dog one was despite her objection in these tough times a 50,000 per year pay raise.She made a decision to step down so things could get done,since she came back from the campaine trail it was obvious a coordinated take down gov Palin effort was launched I believe directly from DC.Does anyone think staying on under these new circumstances would of bein benificial to her state with millions more state funds wasted on stupid basless ethics complaints and an uncooperative pathetic bunch of legislators,let alone what her personal finances would of bein damaged even further?If you think she is a quitter you try and govern under those circumstances ,you look ahead and determine your state facing millions more in legal fees thousands more hours of time and your personal income destroyed,becomming a leagal teams paycheaque.The people of her state are finding out the truth(not from the nbc affiliate,or left wing newspapers up there)but from the internet.They will seek vengence next elections on their incompitant legislature,my guess from speaking with a few Alaskans,is every single one of them are heading for the unemployment lines.They are mad as hell up there,Palin was their best govenor ever and they know it,she saved billions for tough times like now,kept waste to a minimum,got a pipeline deal initiated,gave back to her people,ran AK responsibly,and they rewarded her with a knife to her back.Watch how this will backfire on them in 2010,from what I can gather from conversations with some friends up there,their political carears are heading for a brick wall called the angry Alaskan voter.

Excellent article! As an ex-Republican (now an independent) I have no allegiance to the GOP.
This may be the perfect time for a third party with Sarah Palin as the Presidential candidate.
Sarah Palin has the wisdom, and the intelligence to lead our country. If she works on the
“knowledge” part (easiest of the three), she’ll “walk all over” Obama in 2012.

Thank you, Jane. Yours is the first article that has seriously addressed this issue. Its pretty astonishing to see the GOP establishment trying so hard to tear down Gov.Palin. Do they have any sense, let alone any moral values, left? They NEVER attack Obama or the Dems but because Palin is a reformer and is young and has climbed the ladder successfully, they bring her down. I thought GOP was a meritocratic party, not anymore. It’s a party of jealous old bogies.

You are right that Sarah’s recent announcement was not a wise political move if she’s considering a run for the top job in 2012. In the current political environment it very likely killed her shot at that. I don’t think she will try to start a third party and run under that banner in 2012 either. I have another theory. What if she campaigns for like-minded candidates (Democrat, Republican and Independent, both at the national and state levels) in 2010 and 2012, gains their support, and once those candidates are sworn into office, announces in 2013 that she’s forming a new party with the support of those candidates? Those candidates immediately jump ship to support the new party. Now you already have in office candidates who openly support this new party. There’s an infrastructure with lots of grassroots support from potentially millions of conservative, values-oriented voters. There’s momentum and excitement for 2014 and beyond.

If that were to happen, and I admit that’s a huge “if,” what would happen to what remains of the Republican and Democratic parties? Wouldn’t they be made up of people who look and behave pretty much the same? Liberals, with a few left-leaning centrists. That would be a true revolution; a real “throw the bums out” uprising.

I believe our country is standing on the precipice of a disaster of cataclysmic proportions…possibly secession of states…possibly another revolution or even civil war, unless something is done. People are afraid and angry at the direction we’re headed. They feel like they’ve lost their country. There is little to no regard for our constitution, in spite of public accolades from elected officials. I think it will take some kind of revolution to change course.

The pseudo-sophisticates harp on what Palin doesn’t (yet) know. But they overlook this: she’s a natural leader. The greatest leaders must be willing to be the greatest servants, and that is the true soul and genius of Sarah Palin.

No statesman or national leader knows it all! But the real leaders inspire devotion and loyalty in others who ARE expert in their fields, who know they can contribute and serve with honor, confident that they won’t find a knife in their back one day. Because the boss’s honesty, integrity and courage are proven and indisputable.

Critics, doubters: stand back and watch in awe what this remarkable, gifted woman will yet accomplish.

Typical liars are hear like Roague stating false info,as mayor of Wasilla she left a bonded debt of 13.5 million for get this a sports complex the people of her town requested and approved by a huge majourity.If you think her state is in a mess with billions she saved in good times in the bank,a pipeline deal on route,her states education budget prepayed 2 years in advance,unemployment at roughly 7%,you are a genuine nut job.I guess you are a typical liberal quite happily holding you iou tax return watching unemployment in whatever state your in hit double didgets,happily paying state income,and sales taxes(taxes her people do not pay,as well as paying the lowest taxes in America)and watching your state squirm in debt.You liberals and republican elites are a pathetic bunch of losers who since Reagan all can take credit for what is it now 11 trillion in new debt?Maybe your great teleprompter readers should go back to their ivy league schools and take grade 10 math courses and figure out how to add and grade 10 english courses and learn how to read the crap bills they vote for before voting for them.Get ready in one week the chains of her govenors chair your pathetic bunch of losers put on her since last fall are off,she is speaking aug 8th at the Reagan library by invite to a republican womans group,your elitist ruling class of losers might want to start paying more attention to her,millions of us are.

Jane,
You hit the nail right on the head! I was our local party chairman in 1996
and was trying my best to work on party recruitment to attract young voters,
minorities, blue collar types, etc. The amount of resistance that I ran into
from the older “country club” types was pathetic. Then later that summer I
had to try and act enthusiastic about supporting Bob Dole as the party
nominee. I’ll never forget doing an interview with a local TV station the
night Dole gave his acceptance speech, I told a friend of mine at the
station after the interview ” we’re going to lose in November.” The sad
thing is that Clinton could have been beat that year. The same was true lat
November. If it weren’t for Sarah Palin I would have voted for Bob Barr on
the Libertarian party. The Republican Part has a real problem for eating
their young and until that problem is solved they will never grow. There are
a lot of great conservatives out there that don’t fit model that the blue
and grey haired old fuddyduds have set to be accepted into the party That is
very sad! Now days I just consider myself an independent conservative.

The statement that, “the Democrats have brought in charismatic newcomers like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama” is true, but. Clinton somewhat was his own man, but Obama is merely the “pretty face” of the Democrat party.
Everything he does is orchestrated by the powers of the party. He can go travel around the world and on a date to the Big Apple because he is not having to make any decisions! He is living in the white house, but the party is pulling the strings.
What frightens the Democrats and the Republicans is the possibility of having someone like Palin in the white house who represents the people. Someone who tells it like it is. Someone who might cut out the pork that both parties get elected on and steal for their own coffers.

You are right on track. She will attract people who believe as she does in spite of party lines. Its suprising she would openly state this, but the Republicans and Democrats are through as they now stand.. They offer nothing to the American people who deserve more than warmed-over trash.

You have it exactly right, Jane, it’s surprising how people refuse to take her at face value. This job was becoming impossible with the blizzard of faux ethics complaines and the strain on the state’s finances. She has too much integrity, and hence has aggravated many with little or none of that quality. She resigned
from the oil commission, challenged the party leadership for Governor, broke the stranglehold the major oil companies have on the state. I think she will ultimately run for president, after deciding there really aren’t voices for the people she met on the trail

I have been a Republican since I was a child, I Liked Ike, believed in Goldwater, supported Nixon,loved Reagan. However when George the 1st came on the scene I felt that the party was going the wrong direction. Bob Doyle was a disaster as was McCain. Our last Bush will go down in history as one of the worst Presidents of all time. I felt McCain had a chance because of Palin, she is a breath of fresh air in a party that has become so very, very lost. It is not a conservative party any longer, they are at best Kennedy Democrats. GOD help us find true conservitives that can win elections. Palin is one of them. Look at the terrible abuse thAT SHE PUT UP WITH FROM THE COMMIECRATS, as they attacked her family . To those that despise her I say could you do better? I doubt it.

David R. – Your post has so many run on sentences, I’m not sure I can make sense of it all. First, I’ll address your assumptions about me. I am not a liberal, but an independent. I believe the Republicans are correct about some issues, the Democrats correct on some issues, and both parties are incorrect on some issues. I voted for Reagan and Bush 41, but could not vote for Bush 43. I live in Texas, which also has no state income tax, although it does have sales tax. However, municipalities in Alaska also have sales tax.

As to Alaska being in such great position, I guess that is why the federal government is having to step in due to over 200 people who died after being neglected by the state health program. It’s the only state in this position.

The sports complex bonds were $14,700,000, not $13,500,000. In addition, there were $5,500,000 in general obligation bonds and over $1,000,000 in special assessement bonds. In 2002, the city had to raise sales tax to begin paying off this debt. This information can be pulled directly from the Wasilla financial reports for fiscal year 2002.

Terrific article..and SPOT ON. Those old white guys of the “republican party” just don’t get it. They better, gee, what do they tell Gov Palin to do?….go and “read/smarten up”, before this gal leaves them all with egg on thier faces.
I support Sarah Palin for many reasons. I support her for speaking plain and from the heart, which is something NO other politican can/will do. I’m so tired of all the rhetoric.
I support her because she loves God, her family and her country…but most important is that she is not embaressed to tell you so in word and deed.
I support Sarah Palin because the young women in this country NEED someone to look up to. They need to see someone strong, smart, beautiful (inside and out), and happy that can do good in this country.
Lastly, I support Sarah Palin because as beautful a woman as she is…she is the only politician that has the balls to stand up to Obama and his devistating policies.
Thanks again Jane, will be looking out for more of your “spot on” commentaries 🙂

Like the “Splinter in your brain” dialogue in the movie “The Matrix”, Palin is the character in modern politics that gives shape to the idea we all know is true: that our political system is corrupt.
She sticks in our heads and either inspires or infuriates us because she reminds us of that fact. The hatred of her spews from the inner fear inside those who know they’re on the wrong side; the admiration comes from the realization that “civil service” is honorable, and people desperately want someone honorable in charge. Between those two extremes lies all the rest of us, in various degrees…
Is she ready to be President? We all know that question is irrelevant. The questions that are really in front of all of us is: Is the fight for freedom worth it? Her experience teaches cowards that the answer is no: it teaches patriots that freedom isn’t free. But we already knew that…didn’t we?

The major reason that the rino gop does not like Sarah Palin is the same reason the dems pathologically hate her, is that early on she was interviewed by a main sewer stream media liberal bigot who asked her to describe her faith and she replied “I am a Bible believing Christian.” Within hours the pathological liberal democrat Christian haters were in full satanic voice everywhere as well all their front groups. The Bush rino gop cannot long survive by being democrat clones after all they all attended the same liberal religious naturalist evolutionary institutions of indoctrination. One belief both Obama and Bush have in common is this; neither of them believes the Bible is the Word of God and is historically true.

I like Sarah Palin, but if she could walk on water, turn water to wine, and raise the dead, she still couldn’t fix Washington. It is broken beyond repair and nobody can fix it and if anybody thinks it can be fixed, I have land to sell you on the moon.

There is really only one solution for the people of America, and that is get your state to secede.

Good article that I believe is dead on and is a big part of the reason the Republicans at the national level will have a tough time ever getting in again. I would vote for Sarah Palin if she ran for President but not because she’s a woman and not because she’s an attractive woman, but rather because she walks the walk and talks the talk and this is coming from a man. I don’t know of any man that stands up and tells the truth like she has done.

Jane, you nailed it. However, you missed the main reason that GOP good ol’ boys despise Palin. TV time! McCain, Graham, Colin Powell, Huckabee, Romney, and a handful of others have appointed themselves the “representatives” of the Republican party. John Boehner sits back in a chair and mumbles some nonsense about “firing off a letter” to the president voicing his concerns about policies that are destroying the country, as the most useless House leader in history.

With Palin as the new face of the conservative movement in the Republican party, the networks won’t be calling these tired, moderate hacks to get their never-ending face time on television and in print media. And that, more than anything else, is the huge threat to these posers pretending to represent the viewpoint of Republican voters. So, they feel she must be destroyed.

Mrs. Chastain,
Thank you for your recent article “Why The GOP Elite…” I was
encouraged by Mrs. Palin’s run for the office of vice-president and suspect
that had she and McCain the Democrat won the election she would have been
in a miniscule minority of those that actually kept the oath of office, at
least as far as she understands it. What a candidate she would make if she
could stand on the platform of the Constitution Party. I hope her education
is wide enough to include the founding principles, the arx axiom, of our
nation as well as learning to negotiate the word games of politics and the
media. But I repeat myself.

The distinction between politician and statesman is not made often
enough and seems to be of little importance to the majority of my fellow
citizens. It is important to the lame-stream media only as the butt of
jokes. I doubt that I have the intestinal fortitude to be the type of
statesman that midwifed the birth of this nation but know for sure that most
of those serving as elected officials at the federal level would not have
been in the Continental Congress unless the bar was open. And free. Pity.

The first modern statesman that I met was Howard Phillips. I think
Ron Paul serves for the right reason and I appreciate Dr. No’s stand, on
principle and on most issues. I have voted for Alan Keyes in every GOP
primary that he has been in. I believe that Sarah Palin has the heart of
a statesman. She also has great energy and charisma. I am hopeful and
hungry for what she could bring to the table. Actually, I hope she clears
the table and starts over. The republicans are offering precious little that
is palatable. I also see Bobby Jindal on the horizon but he needs to really
tighten down on constitutional issues. Until the GOP replanks their plat-
form and stands on it I can only see myself voting for the Constitution
Party candidates. You know where they stand.

If God intends her to be President then he will do his part in making it so.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that her competition keeps shooting themselves in the foot. Or that the Mainstream Media make themselves into a laughing stock from their excesses. Surely, they will run out of fictitious accusations and start repeating themselves.

What were the priorities which Sarah Palin mentioned in her resignation statement? She said that her goals were to save Alaska from the expense of processing bogus ethics charges designed to attack her. Resigning from office was the only way to stop the Democrat party from sabotaging the governor’s duties and responsibilities. By turning over her duties to her Lt governor, he could get on with satisfying Alaska’s needs. This also sets him up for being elected in 2010.

Also, her goals involve climbing out from under a half million dollars in debts due to defending herself from bogus Democrat Party ethics charges. I assume she will write and promote a book which answers the Democrats and sets the record straight. She will also campaign for candidates who share her conservative values.

In short, she has taken on the task of acting as a Republican Party leader and intends to foster Conservative values. This is regardless whether the current leadership supports her, because many Republican party members will.

It is possible that she will spend the next thirty years holding politician’s feet to the fire. That is fine if it redeems America from Obama’s Social Democratic policies.

If the choice is between her personal political career and moving the American government toward conservative values, I believe she will gladly choose the latter.

This is going to get more interesting as the time for the 2010 mid-term elections inches closer and closer. God knew what was going to happen, and permitted it. As the GOP keeps shooting its foot and sticking it in its mouth to stop the bleeding, we will likely see Sarah Palin helping someone from the Midwest beat out Barack Obama in 2012. I hope this circus wakes up people, and doesn’t do so much damage, that it would take years just to recover. Jealousy destroys the good of everyone and everything!

I appreciated your article, “Why the GOP Elite Despises Sarah Palin”. Thank you for such a clear analysis of an otherwise (to me) inexplicable state of affairs. I am an admirer of Sarah Palin, and have been baffled by how she has been treated by some members of her own political party.

I particularly appreciated your description of her as a “statesman” as opposed to a “politician”. That was really illuminating; no one has made that distinction before, and it is right on the mark!

I am a lifelong party Democrat and pretty liberal. But I enjoy this blog because it is (I know this is shocking) interesting to hear other people’s points of view and read intelligent stuff instead of typical rantings on the right and the left.

I’m no Palin fan but this was an interesting take. The Democrats are more open to having someone with some personality skip ahead in the line. It isn’t always pretty (Jimmy Carter is a good man but was a lousy President) but at least doesn’t put the party to sleep.

Ms Chastain:
I expect your right. Sarah Palin has a lot going for her and is going to be a force against the evil of this world but I think
John Bolton has the necessary temperament for the job as President. It will take more than just being competent.

We will have to be much more self reliant if we are to have any peace. Obama expects to make us dependent on our government and our government dependent on him and there will be no law he has to follow. This was the message the Lord gave Samuel when Israel wanted a king and got Saul. The Lord told Samuel the people were not rejecting Samuel but the Lord, himself. Isn’t that what we are seeing at this present time? Palin is being rejected because she keeps reminding about God.
Richard

I still can’t believe Palin has her own reality television show. Can anybody get a tv show nowadays? And it’s completely apparent that she is only doing it to drum up popularity so that she can have a shot at being president of the USA. The most terrifying thing is that what with the way everybody idolizes reality tv stars, it’s just demented enough to work. I’m not what you would call an extreme liberal or anything like that, but I would hope anybody with a little sense on either side of the political aisle would be able to tell why we wouldn’t want a woman like her being in charge of the United States.